Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies (JIMS) claims that Israel's tax burden has never been lower. The economic policy think tank "whose mission is to promote social progress in Israel through economic freedom and individual liberty," calculates that for the first time ever in 2010, Israelis can mark Tax Freedom Day in the first half of the year.

JIMS calculates that Tax Freedom Day is the day of the year when Israelis earned enough income to cover all their taxes for that year. June 22 will be the earliest Tax Freedom Day in Israel since the day was first calculated in 1990. Last year Tax Freedom Day was marked 25 days later.

By JIMS's criteria, the US and Britain have a lower tax burden than Israel with Tax Freedom Day having already fallen on April 9 and May 30 respectively. But Israelis can feel better off than the Germans who celebrate Tax Freedom Day on July 8, the French on July 16 and the Swedes and Norwegians on July 29.

The JIMS website enables Israelis to calculate their personal Tax Freedom Day according to their salary. According to the calculator, Israelis with higher salaries must pay a higher tax burden and must therefore celebrate their personal Tax Freedom Day later.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 21, 2010

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